"Rinard at Manheim." The New Yorker 65 (4 December 1989), 150-2. Courtney Fox
This article begins with one of John Mcphee's friends experiences, talking with a man about a certain type of car. A friend of McPhee's told him about this special vehicle that he happened upon during one of his travels to Nevada. The car was described as "white vehicle with whirling red-and-blue roof lights and the Nevada seal on the door." The friend said that he expected that car to belong to the State Police because of the lights but the upon closer examination the car had a decal that read "Brand Inspector." This interested McPhee and his acquaintance greatly because "cattle rustling" is thought to be a thing of the past but clearly in the state of Nevada it is still a way of life. McPhee's friend thought that McPhee could learn a lot if "he could ride around that country with the brand inspector."
His friend then goes into greater detail of what the exterior and interior of the car looks like. He talks about the different antennas on the top and what their purposes are. He then moves to the inside of the vehicle and talks about the glove compartment and how it is packed with a gun and ammo. From there he gives us the name of the inspector: Chris Collis. The inspector has all 3743 brands for his cattle memorized. He gives a lot of detail about the land and cattle that he owns, and how each of his calves are worth a dollar a pound.
The beginning of this article can be misleading, you begin by thinking that the article is going to be about this unique car. The story shifts and changes completely when McPhee's friend interacts with the cattle inspector. The article turns out to be about livestock, farmland and the ways in which cows are branded. Overall, it's an easy and interesting article, I recommend it to others in the class.
This article begins with one of John Mcphee's friends experiences, talking with a man about a certain type of car. A friend of McPhee's told him about this special vehicle that he happened upon during one of his travels to Nevada. The car was described as "white vehicle with whirling red-and-blue roof lights and the Nevada seal on the door." The friend said that he expected that car to belong to the State Police because of the lights but the upon closer examination the car had a decal that read "Brand Inspector." This interested McPhee and his acquaintance greatly because "cattle rustling" is thought to be a thing of the past but clearly in the state of Nevada it is still a way of life. McPhee's friend thought that McPhee could learn a lot if "he could ride around that country with the brand inspector."
His friend then goes into greater detail of what the exterior and interior of the car looks like. He talks about the different antennas on the top and what their purposes are. He then moves to the inside of the vehicle and talks about the glove compartment and how it is packed with a gun and ammo. From there he gives us the name of the inspector: Chris Collis. The inspector has all 3743 brands for his cattle memorized. He gives a lot of detail about the land and cattle that he owns, and how each of his calves are worth a dollar a pound.
The beginning of this article can be misleading, you begin by thinking that the article is going to be about this unique car. The story shifts and changes completely when McPhee's friend interacts with the cattle inspector. The article turns out to be about livestock, farmland and the ways in which cows are branded. Overall, it's an easy and interesting article, I recommend it to others in the class.